The Sana'a Specialized Penal Court on Wednesday sentenced to death two of six men charged in the bombing of the USS Cole in Aden harbor on October 12, 2000.

The mastermind of the Cole attack Abdul-Rahim al-Nashiri, sentenced to death in absentia as currently he is in U.S. custody, and Jamal al-Badawi received the death sentence in Wednesday's hearing during which the court pronounced verdicts against all Cole defedants.

According to SABA, defendants Fahd M. al-Qas'a was given 10 years in jail, Maamoona Ahmed, eight years, and Murad Saleh and Ali al-Markab were given five years each. Their jail terms are retroactive as of the beginning of their incarceration.

The court ruled the confiscation of the seized materials and fined al-Nashiri with YR 500,000 to be given to his court-appointed lawyer, Mohammed al-Ezani.

The convicted men are the first to be tried in the attack on the US warship which was carried out by two suicide bombers, using an explosives-laden boat.

The six defendants faced charges of belonging to al-Qaeda, forming an armed gang to carry out sabotage acts against state interests, resisting authorities and forging official documents. (albawaba.com)